My sister has started the daunting task of writing her memoirs....why, you say....does she have some racey or mysterious things in her past to reveal. No, I don't believe that would be the reason.....I believe it's because of our mother....and our dad, who is gone, and his sister...who was the family historian...who knew everything about every family member, is also gone..before we realized that she was the last, taking all those details, all that history, all that knowledge that validated who we are and just how we came into this family....how did we fit into the puzzle?

So, I'm assuming that she wants to leave this to her family, her children, her grandchildren....so that one day , when they ask, and perhaps sister is no longer there to answer, they will find the answer in her memoirs.....fancy name isn't it....a name to describe our life, our own personal history.

With this in mind, sister asked me about my remembrances in regards to an adventure I had as a child.

Those of you that regularly read this blog....all ten of you...know that I was born with a physical disability....a nice phrase that covers up the one they used when I was born...crippled...it is interesting to follow the evolution of the phrases used for different things over the years....in this case...crippled, to handicapped to physical disability...I'm sure there were others. All very politically correct....but I digress.

My parents had no fore knowledge that I was to be born with any problems...no ultra sounds in those days...and after a difficult, concerning labour I was born with the muscles missing from the upper parts of my arms, ...the biceps completely missing and the deltoid muscles across my shoulders were also lacking...they were there, but not all there....anyways, you can understand why this would have distressed my parents....the lack of biceps meant that I couldn't bend my arms, try it sometimes.....a little tricky to accomplish things....

When I was about three years old, which meant that sister was round six, my mother and father took me on a very long trip....just the three of us....sister went and stayed with our grandparents. We went all the way to Detroit.....it would be about a four hour drive...doesn't seem long now but in the early 1950's it seemed far. They were taking me to a healing crusade....an Oral Roberts healing crusade. I don't have a lot of recollections of this time but I have some....some that sister wanted to know....so, it got me thinking.....a lot of my childhood memories that involved my arms, I try not to dwell on....I guess it's how I got thru the four surgeries, the countless physical therapies, the doctors, and more doctors....

So, I've spent some time these days just thinking on it all....maybe this is good...maybe, somebody will want to know when I'm gone...maybe, maybe not.

I remember that we stayed in a hotel....I remember not having much to do and my mom giving me the hotel stationary,...yes, they actually had stationary back then....telling me to write a letter to my sister, back home...so, I did...as any three year old might....if you saw it today, it would look like a lot of wavy lines but to me they were my words....I knew exactly what that letter said.

I remember a huge tent that apparently Oral Roberts used, it held 3000 people.....I don't know how long we were there but it must have been over a weekend, for a few days. That's why we had to stay in the hotel. I know my mom and dad and I stood in a long line, waiting for Oral Roberts to come down the line to see us. I remember my dad holding me in his arms...I remember him coming, I remember he had a loud voice, I remember him putting his hands on my forehead....praying...saying that I was healed....but I wasn't.

The last few days have caused me to think about my mom and dad....they were pretty young...in their late twenties....they didn't have much money...my dad worked as a welder for a factory....it was called the coke ovens...not the coke the kids are so fond of...to drink or sniff...in fact, about four years earlier my dad had fallen off a bridge at work, thirty feet and broke his back in three places, my mom and dad were hard workers, money was always tight...never enough to go around....so, for them to take me to Detroit, hoping I'd be healed was a big deal...no, it was huge! They willing sacrificed.

My mom and dad wanted their little girl to be healed,....they were looking for a miracle......it would be interesting to know what their feelings were on that long ride home....they must have been disappointed....they must have been sad....did they watch me carefully the next few days...hoping that it had worked? I don't know....my dad is gone...cant ask him, my mom, probably can't remember...although maybe I'll try asking her....they certainly weren't bitter, they didn't walk away from God....

The apostle Paul asked many times for his affliction to be removed but it never was.....did he walk away from God...no, he accepted that God had different plans....I think my mom and dad did too...oh, they didn't stop looking for help for me....like I said , four surgeries.....the first two didn't work either...the second two were just to fuse my wrist bones to stop the hands from turning under....

My parents were pretty special people, people of faith....strong faith....and I think that's a pretty good heritage...pretty good thing to remember...hope my kids remember it too.


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Location:The Healer

Many things.....

Hello Company Girls!

Sooooo many things have been going on but I'll try to give the hilites....

First of all, youngest son, Ben graduated high school...so very proud of him....and he even landed himself a part time job at a local drugstore.....





The bottom pic is daughter Lauren, Sara, Paul's girlfriend, Paul, Ben, myself and hubby , Don.

Then while we were on holiday, son Paul got a new puppy...an 8 week old yellow lab...ever so cute.....


Chevy

And I thot I'd show you some pics of the trailer....all fixed up....we've been enjoying the changes for the last two weeks....





This is the deck...lots of comfy chairs and lounges to relax in....


This is the the dressing room tent....where all the girls have kept all their girl stuff....when you have a little trailer there isn't room for all their paraphernalia!


The new fire pit....beside the old one that my dad built 30 years ago....didn't get to use either one cause it's been so hot and dry, there was a fire ban!


As you walk in the door of our trailer, you face the chesterfield...it folds down into a 'not very comfortable bed'....it's an old trailer!


The one casual chair with the white stool that we can use as a side table when it's not used as a sitting stool for the dining table....


The dining table....with the one bench that we saved.....


Ooops...this slipped in out of order....Megan made these in craft class...the first day she came home with the yellow container, filled with muddy water....she said she had planted a seed...needless to say, we had to dump it out and start over...she's very thrilled that it grew!....I think it's a bean plant...have absolutely no idea what we'll do with it!


The wee kitchen area...to the left, out of camera range is a fridge...then the stove, above the pic, out of camera shot is a microwave....a little double sink...


Our bedroom....very compact....


A shot of the new wall covering that son Ryan put up, and I put a white wash on at the start of the holiday...


The table can be turned the other way to accommodate more people....we still have to figure out some seating adjustments for the area under the window....

So....there were more pics but you get the general idea....not the biggest trailer and when there are more than three people in it, it could seem crowded...but it's served our purpose for about fifteen years , and now with the changes, hopefully a few more...til we retire at least.

So, I'm real late in posting this blog...but I hope some of you drop by! Have a good weekend!

Little bit of this and that....

Well, it is that time again....the last day of school ...in our house....although I am just talking about regular school....Maya will be going to her community college course all summer. Today is Ben's last day of high school....now that only leaves Megan...the last of the nine, to be at high school....after fourteen years of having kids at this particular high school, I'm finally down to one...Megan will attend for another four years...when you are delayed you are allowed to stay in school til you're 21 years old. Next week I'll have to post some pics of Ben's grad, which is scheduled for next Thursday evening. Ben had some very good news last week...he's been doing a co-op job two afternoons a week at a local drug store...now they have offered him a job! Just three afternoons a week...but it's a job and he got it all by himself...no worker helping him or anything! For a delayed kid, that is huge! We are very proud of him...

...another son had some accomplishments this week also....Paul, our army guy, decided to spice things up a bit and volunteered to take a three week paratroopers' course...last week he stopped in and his shoulders were covered in huge bruises from jumping out of high towers...this week he jumped out of a plane...five times!....and he passed....so, now ,as well as being qualified in infantry and artillery, he's also a paratrooper!

Tomorrow, hubby and I are suppose to return to our trailer, up north, and put the trim and quarter round down, put together the table and chairs and all round just get everything ready for the following weekend when we have our scheduled two week holiday up there. I will be glad when it's all done and we can finally relax...hubby needs the break!

Today is hubby's alternate Friday off...yes, his boss decided they could have them back..for a while...til she decides to rescind it again....so, this morning we have to take the dogs to the vet for their check ups and needles....such a joy, Reilly, the male, gets so anxious that he usually tries to bite the vet...where is the dog whisperer when you need him?....then I have a massage booked...then we have to go into the city and get my passport renewed....then...I have to pick up Megan at school and take her for a needle at the doctor's office....then.....we finally get to come home and relax...wait...we have to gather up everything for the trailer so it's all ready to go in the morning....then we can relax....so much for a day off!

Next week will be a week of change....Ben will be learning all about getting to and from his job, on the bus.....he's used to the bus, with his class, but he's never gone from our house, on his own....something new...Megan will be home, driving me nuts about packing EVERYTHING to go to the trailer...she usually wants to bring her whole room....it's only a little trailer , so she's limited....she doesn't seem to get that though....Maya will continue on with school and work...although I have to meet her at the police station on Monday to walk her thru the process of getting her police check done...( required by the school for working in the long term care facilities), and take her to the doctor's the next day to get , yet another form filled out.......,one day I'll have the grandgirls so that their mom can attend a school trip with their brother, my grandson....quilting class will cease for the summer....Ben's grad on Thursday evening, packing for our holiday, taking the dogs to the kennel for our long wknd, next wknd.....and, probably throwing in some house cleaning to leave the house decent to come home to....although Ben and Maya will be here while we're away.....and ya, so far...I think that's about it....at least I hope it is....it would be nice if the drama ceased for the summer...well, at least for next week anyways...

Have a wonderful weekend ladies!




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Me and my guy...

Good Morning Company Girls! This is a very special post.....on Saturday, June 16, this very special man and I are celebrating 39 years of marriage!

Let me tell you about him....we met the summer that he was 16 years old. Yes, we've been together that long....42 years this August...we met at a Salvation Army camp for underprivileged kids. We were both counselors. We were both kind of shy...it took us the whole month before we finally got together, before we experienced our very first kiss, down on the beach...the very last night before camp ended! Unheard of these days,..these days people barely know each other before 'hopping in the sack'....never mind a first kiss!



Donald is a pretty good guy.....when we first met, obviously he was still in high school. He had plans though...he wanted to work in a bank. So, before he even graduated he had been hired for a job as a teller in a local trust company..which is just like a bank. Before we got married, he bought his first car...unfortunately, a few months before we married he was in a car accident and totaled it...but he soon got another.

After we married, we decided that we didn't want to wait too long before we started our family....6 months later we were expecting our first. Nine months later we had our first daughter and named her Leslie. It was after this that Don decided that he wanted to pursue his CGA designation. CGA stands for certified general accountant. It was a very long road...taking one course at a time....eleven years later he finally graduated! Along the way he left the trust company, first working in the office of a food manufacturing place, then in a company that manufactured things out of iron. When that place closed down he got the job he has now....a pricing analyst with a company that makes landing gear for the big airplanes....

At home, we had our daughter and two years later our son, Ryan....three years after that I miscarried our third child at eighteen weeks...an extremely difficult time for the both of us. It was a few years after all this that we decided to become foster parents. We never went into fostering with the idea of adopting....and although about twenty five went through our home in the 19 years that we fostered...we ended up being allowed to keep and adopt seven. We became a family of eleven! When we married 39 years ago it never entered our minds how many children we would have...I don't think it was quite that many...but God had different plans. He decided that our family would be made up of both birth and adopted children. The first two, a boy named Corey and then a girl , named Lauren, came in the same year...the boy was two and the girl, who came three months later was a new born. Some more children passed through our doors and then our next son , Paul came and stayed...actually he stayed for a couple of months...went and lived with a quasi family member for a few months and when that didn't work out came back to us...meanwhile this little guy's younger sister ,Maya was born and came to stay...plus his younger brother, Ben almost a year later. Ben had been living with his birth father for awhile but then came for a visit and stayed. Though Ben and Maya were only 13 months apart ,he was delayed so it was like having twins! When Maya was about eight, we adopted again...this time a seven year old girl, named Emma. A few years later, after we had stopped fostering, we were called about taking a 10 year old girl, named Megan


..half sibling to three of our other children.....and that is how our family grew. Through it all, Don and I have had a really good marriage. I could not have asked for a better helpmate, if I had written up the requirements myself. He has loved me through thick and thin, and after all these years I still feel a joy in my heart when he comes through the door...we enjoy spending time together and even though the kids get upset when we want to go on trips by ourselves, we feel it's necessary....after all, when the kids are (hopefully) all moved out, Lord willing, we will still have each other...to love and to cherish,...til death do us part.


Happy Anniversary to my best friend....I doubt will have 39 more....but I'll take as many as I can...

I'm posting this tonight cause the grand kids are coming tomorrow..and staying overnite...cause it's their parents Anniversay...the day before ours...yes,..June is a popular month!

Trailer Reno 2012

Putting the new flooring down....











Starting to put the 'tin' wall covering to cover up the damage from when they took the benches out..





Almost done....











The last piece of flooring...


The bedroom floor...








Covering the wheel box...





Close up of the tin covering....


The one bench put back in....we threw out the other bench...








Next time we go up...put together the new table and chairs....

A lot of work....!

adventures!

Good Morning Company Girls....and a lovely morning it is here in southern Ontario....the sun is shining, a gentle breeze is blowing...the kids have been off to school for awhile so the house is very quiet....just me and the dogs, who are lying sleeping at my feet...I hear the mourning doves making their 'hooing' noise outside and a Canada geese flock chattering away in the distance as they fly up to the pond under the escarpment....yes, so far it's a peaceful morning...but then again it's only 8 a.m.!

Last I spoke to you I was in Florida, waiting on hubby working his last morning at the office there before we headed back up to Canada late in the afternoon....we got to the airport quite early...we had to check out by one-thirty...we went to the Hollywood beach and walked along the cobbled pathway til we came to a restaurant that appealed to both of us and we sat outside and had a sandwich before we continued on to the airport....it was one of those time situations...not enough time to drive anywhere else and do anything but a little too early to go to the airport....but it started raining at the beach so off to the airport we went. We were pleased that the security line up wasn't long at all and we waltzed right through quite speedily....take off the shoes, take off the jacket, take out the iPad and put it in a separate bin....put the carry on case in another bin....walk towards the metal detector...the unsmiling, bored TSA agent looked at me and with a flick of his finger, motioned towards the full body scan,..I scooted closer to him and indicated with my bent hands and arms that I can't lift them over my head so he allowed me just to do the walk thru of the older scans....back on the other side..gather your belongings, get your shoes on...get your jacket, put the iPad away...stow the passport and boarding pass back in the case....done and done...til we get home...or so I thot......

after we found our gate and made ourselves comfortable....hubby went for a walk, while i guarded our belongings (which you are always reminded to do, right...never leave them unattended the recording is always telling you...but you choose to block out after the umpteenth time of hearing it) and when he came back, I followed suit........i meandered around for awhile....the flight from Ft. Lauderdale to La Guardia was the longer leg of our journey so I thot walking around would be a good thing to do....I was in one of the shops, directly across the aisle from the security screening, when I noticed a kerfluffle going on...some big guy in a suit was talking on a phone to someone and saying about a substance being released in the area....didn't know if it was tear gas or pepper spray, but he was advising somebody that some TSA workers were having respiratory problems...I did hear someone, coughing up a lung somewhere close by....

so, I went back to hubby and said..I think there's something going on in the security area, and relayed what I had heard....we didn't think much more about it til at least a half and hour later this high pitched noise starts repeatedly going off...everyone is looking at each other wondering what the pete is going on...the TSA person behind the check in counter starts telling everybody to evacuate...some people started moving and others just looked at her and ignored her...several security people then showed up and said get out, head to an exit...so we did...herding off like a bunch of cattle, down the wide hallway...not really knowing where we were going...a sheriff came along and herded us to a different exit...while doing so, another TSA person comes along, pushing someone in a wheel chair, and is telling everyone to cover their mouths....good grief...this was getting serious....hubby and I became separated in the crowd which caused me some angst...it happens so easily when your toe to heel with so many people trying to escape...

it turns out that we were being sent to an exit, which was a gate...where the airplanes come in...down on the tarmac....there we waited for two hours....nobody could really tell us what was going on...when they finally let us back in the terminal, it was long past our flight time...which we weren't too worried about because our flight hadn't been allowed to leave....unfortunately, because they let us back in thru the baggage claim area , they said we'd have to be security screened again before we could go to our gate..

this time there were hundreds of people, converging on this one little security area...they brought more TSA people in to handle the load....but there it is...go thru it all again...shoes, jacket, iPad, metal detector...put everything back on..hurry to our gate...get on the waiting plane.....three hours late from our original departure time....

we were glad to get on the plane and get going....unfortunately, our connecting flight at La Guardia for Buffalo had already left...when we arrived in New York...wow, the lights at 11 p.m., flying in low over the top of the city were amazing!.....when we deplaned...well, New York wasn't so amazing....well, the terminal we were at, anyways.....everything was closed up, tighter than a drum...the gate keeper said we were booked on a flight for the next afternoon...AFTERNOON!....it was 11 p.m.!....I asked if there was anything sooner (it was a holiday weekend in Canada last weekend and our van was sitting in a car dealership in Oakville, (about a half hours drive from our house....our house is about an hour and a bit drive from Buffalo airport)...it had been having work done on it while we were away and if we didn't get it on Saturday than we wouldn't get it til the following Tuesday, after the holiday! Good grief....so...the agent got us on an 8:45a.m. flight the next morning....meanwhile, all the hotels close to the airport were booked up...they could have put us at a not so nice sounding hotel by JFK airport, and then rerouted us departing from JFK in the morning...but hubby decided we should just stay at the airport....

Thus started the night of the longest night ever.....we were sent down to baggage claim to get our checked piece..trouble is, once you leave arrival/departure..which was nicer than baggage claim...you can't go back...til you GO THRU SECURITY AGAIN...which of course was all closed up for the night....my suitcase wasn't in baggage claim...course not...it was going to Buffalo! So we were stuck in baggage claim...it was not a nice place...the carpets were dirty, the walls bare, the cushions on the chairs, which were few, were split and some taped over, they had metal handrails between each seat area, so you couldn't even lie down...there weren't even any vending machines, so you couldn't even get a chocolate bar, a bag of chips or something to drink...hubby and i hadn't had anything to eat since lunch time..and no promise of food or even water til the next morning...now, myself...I can stand to lose a few pounds but hubby hasn't been well...he's been losing weight this past month and really couldn't afford to lose more....

Do you know that even though NOBODY but a handful of us, who were stranded in La Guardia there, in the baggage claim area...that they still have those stupid recordings going off at timed intervals telling you to watch your bags..or the other one was to be careful about which bag you picked up off the carousel because so many bags look alike...ALL NIGHT LONG...so even if you were able to contort your body on the difficult chairs to get any rest....well, the recordings woke you with a jolt...they're REALLY loud when the terminal is empty...and the terminal also gets very cold when there aren't a lot of people around to warm it up...

Around 4 a.m., I went for another walk...this one to try and get warm thru movement...I went up on the floor above, where the check in was...I saw a TSA guy by the closed up security area and asked...'when does the security area open'? He said around 4:30...so I quickly went down...got hubby,...gathered up our stuff and we got in line for another security check. Security check meant arrivals/departures lounge, security check meant food and water...per chance a cup of tea,,,,

went thru security again...you know the drill....and then sat and waited for the food services to open at 5 a.m. We didn't need fast food McDonalds at this point so we went to one of the restaurants...a little pricey but justified that it was supper and breakfast and enjoyed it....

After that we went to our gate and hubby dozed til it was time to board....
I'm not a big Buffalo fan but I was very glad to see it come into view from the plane...we quickly got my checked bag, which I was thrilled had made it to Buffalo...(it had my quilt in that I had been working on!)....found our car in the parking area and quickly drove over the border...all the way to Oakville (going past our house to do so) picked up our van...headed home...and collapsed....I don't think we left the surface of our bed all afternoon....

It was an adventure to remember, that's for sure!

On the home front...Maya started college this past week...I think I told you...it's a 6 month course for a personal support worker....so far it's been quite hectic for her....leaving at 6:15am to catch the bus...school all morning, taking the bus home, going to work at the coffee shop til 9 and 10 pm....long days...good thing she's young!

Emma's still saying she's pregnant, so maybe she really is...

Hubby's test results came back and the ultrasound showed Inflammatory bowel disease...not nice but at least you can work with it...next is a cat scan scheduled to get a better look I guess...after a month of him being sick, I will admit that we're kind of relieved to have some kind of diagnosis...

So, that's been what's happening in our life at the moment....take care...and have a good weekend!

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Be still....

Good Morning Company Girls!

Just inside the front door, of my house, is a plaque.....on it are the words 'Be still....and know that I am'

To anyone with any Christian background you automatically finish it....'be still and know that I am God.....

I was reminded of this again this week, as my world went on another tilt...again.....

Hubby and I went on a little jaunt to Florida this week....we are scheduled to fly
Home this evening....hubby's work company has an office down
Here and thy wanted him to come and teach them something....some pricing thing that he created years ago that they think is pretty good....when hubby found out that he had to go he said 'you're coming, you need a break'....so, for the last two days I've sat in a hotel room and quilted and read....watched a little tv, the weather hasn't really been conducive to sitting out...overcast, rain, thunder, lightening....so, it's been a different break, but a break nonetheless, and I am grateful.

Back to the tilting.....it's Emma...before we left home, she hinted at the fact that she may be pregnant....while down here ,she claims to have taken 'the test' and that it was positive. Quite frankly, I don't entirely believe her,....the cynical side of me thinks that it could be a huge welfare scam....but...if she is....if she is, then I have serious concerns about the welfare of an unborn babe in the care of Emma. Emma has thoroughly enjoyed her life since she left our home almost 7 months ago....she's become a part of a whole world out there that I could only compare to biblical accounts of Sodom and Gomorrah....yes, you get the picture....this is the life she wanted to experience...living in our home was boring...there was a life out there and she was determined to have it...so we had to let her go.

But...a baby, a little unborn babe that didn't make that choice...that is the rub...where
Do you put yourself when it comes to this life, .....

It's a tragedy really,....I remember when we found out that our first grandchild was coming we rejoiced...there was happiness, there was joyful expectation.....the normal reaction to the knowledge that your first grandchild was coming.....and with all the subsequent grandchildren, except for one, it was the same....excitement, jubilation....the one exception was when our son Corey's girlfriend became pregnant, there was also concern and angst as my son wanted an abortion....he knew he couldn't handle being a father...and he was right, about the bing a father, that is, not the abortion...but thankfully the abortion didn't take place and our grandson was born.

Every child deserves to be welcomed, to have people excited that they are born, to have all the normal reactions of joy and expectation at their birth. It's not the child's fault, it's the irresponsible behavior of the parents....they have no idea of the life that they have signed on for because you never stop being a parent, no matter how old your child becomes, or how irresponsible they are in their choices.

Maybe it's because I've experienced so much out of the 'normal' in parenting our nine children, and fostering close to twenty others.....is that why I feel a calmness...is that why when my kids do these things I don't feel angry and rejected....I realize that they have a free will....that these are THEIR choices , not mine...and getting angry and upset will not change it....Emma has made an irresponsible decision here and unfortunately it will affect an innocent life. She doesn't see this right now, she doesn't see the magnitude of this decision....we do because we've lived with the irresponsible decisions in our home in the form of our children for many years....no child deserves that...no child deserves that kind of angst in their life that follows them into adult life, and that no man can ever completely erase.

That is my greatest concern today...this life...if there is a new one....but even if it's not in Emma, unfortunately there are many others out there to take it's place.....other children who are thrust into this world without comfort and security....

I have to remind myself of the plaque in my living room....

Be still.......relax, pause...

And know......turn toward Me..

That I am God....your refuge and strength, your ever present help in time of trouble, your fortress and deliverer....

I may have to remind myself of this every day, every moment...when my world is on a tilt.....

Be still...and know.....that I am.


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